NOVEMBER 11, 2015 | ISSUE no. 5
Next Man Up
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g will How lon ott lead lli Shawn E ecocks? the Gam
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carolina VS. FLORIDA
CONTENTS CONTENTS
6 NEXT MAN UP
How long will Shawn Elliott lead the Gamecocks?
ON THE COVER: Interim head coach Shawn Elliott tips a visor to the fans in honor of Steve Spurrier before the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 17. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
4 11 12 14 15
OPPONENT PREVIEW: Revenge of the Gator Florida looks like an elite football team again ILLUSTRATION SENIOR PROFILE: Brother Act Carolina’s Dixon brothers throw their own fraternity party on the defensive line
CAROLINA FOOTBALL 2015 SCHEDULE 9/3
vs.
9/12
vs.
9/19 9/26
OPINION: Gator Bait Carolina’s only hope against the Gators? Gambling.
10/3
TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
10/17
10/10
10/31 PUBLISHER: Charlie Nutt | charlien@free-times.com, ext. 129 EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Dan Cook | danc@free-times.com, ext. 133 MANAGING EDITOR: Patrick Wall | sideline@free-times.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lisa Heinz | lisaw@free-times.com, ext. 121 SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Joey Ayer | joeya@free-times.com, ext. 150 GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Dré Lopez | drel@free-times.com, ext. 145 CONTRIBUTORS Travis Bell, Paul Collins, Chris Dearing, James Harley, Scott Hood ILLUSTRATOR: Dré Lopez SALES MANAGER Hyatt Drake | hyattd@free-times.com, ext. 153 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Angie Bledsoe | angieb@free-times.com, ext. 131 Sue Miller | suem@free-times.com, ext. 134 Jessica Rowland | jessicar@free-times.com, ext. 141 Hunter Wise I hunterw@free-times.com, ext. 123 Zoe Levy I zoel@free-times.com, ext. 130 Josh Findlay I joshf@free-times.com, ext. 128 ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Xavier Edwards | xaviere@free-times.com OFFICE MANAGER Anton Dela Cruz | antond@free-times.com, ext. 132 VICE PRESIDENT-OPERATIONS Jen Coody | jenc@free-times.com, ext. 124
11/7 11/14 11/21 11/28
at vs. at vs. vs. at at vs. vs. vs.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte, N.C.
W, 17-13
KENTUCKY
Columbia, S.C.
l, 26-22
GEORGIA
Athens, Ga.
L, 52-20
CENTRAL FLORIDA Columbia, S.C.
w, 31-14
MISSOURI
Columbia, Mo.
L, 24-10
LSU
Baton Rouge, La.
L, 45-24
VANDERBILT Columbia, S.C.
W, 19-10
TEXAS A&M
College Station, Texas
L, 35-28
TENNESSEE Knoxville, Tenn.
L, 27-24
FLORIDA Columbia, S.C.
12 p.m.
CITADEL Columbia, S.C.
TBA
CLEMSON Columbia, S.C.
TBA
= SEC game
THE SIDE LINE IS PUBLISHED BY RESORTS MEDIA LLC 1534 Main St., Columbia, SC 29201 PO Box 8295, Columbia, SC 29202 (803) 765-0707 • free-times.com Advertisers in The Side Line assume responsibility for the entire content and subject matter of all advertisements. In case of error or omissions in advertisement, the publisher’s sole liability shall be to publish the advertisement at a later date. Notice of error must be made within ten days of first insertion. © 2015 Resorts Media. All rights reserved.
NOVEMBER 11, 2015 | ISSUE no. 5
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OPPONENT PREVIEW
BY Chris Dearing
FLORIDA
gators CONFERENCE: Southeastern 2014 RECORD: 7-5 (4-4 SEC) 2015 RECORD: 8-1 (6-1 SEC) SERIES RECORD: Florida leads, 24-8-3 COACH: Jim McElwain YEARS AS COACH: 1 RECORD AT FLORIDA: 8-1 LAST MEETING: Carolina 23, Florida 20 (0T) (Nov. 15, 2014, in Gainesville, Fla.)
THREE TO WATCH Then-junior running back Brandon Wilds scores a first-quarter touchdown against Florida in Gainesville on Nov. 15, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Revenge of the Gator Florida looks like an elite football team again
B
y the time Florida steps into WilliamsBrice Stadium, the Gators will have already been crowned champion of the SEC East. The Gators needed a late field goal to take a 9-7 victory over the Commodores, but the home win nonetheless wrapped up Florida’s spot in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. They’re back from the swamp — Florida’s among the country’s elite football teams again, and the Gators have deployed a stingy defense and an opportunistic offense to become so. The Florida defense has created 15 turnovers through the first nine games of the season, and that’s given the offense several short fields for quick scores. Vernon Hargreaves is the leader of the defense; the defensive back has four interceptions (and he’s averaged 38 yards per intercep-
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The Gators offense might not strike fear in many opponents. Junior running back Kelvin Taylor is averaging only 70 yards per game, and the Gators have just four players with 20 or more receptions, with junior Demarcus Robinson leading the way. But the Gator offense has been as stingy with the ball as the defense has been hawkish, having tion return) and 23 tackles in turned the ball over just seven eight games. Senior Antonio Morrison and junior Jarrad Davis times in nine games. Starting are the leading tacklers — 67 and freshman quarterback Will Grier has been suspended for a year for 61, respectively — from their using banned substances, so that linebacker positions. has left the controls in the hands Florida has limited teams to of sophomore Treon Harris. He seven touchdowns in 16 trips is only averaging 115 passing inside the red zone line during yards per game, and he’s needed conference play. South Carolina big plays to record even those has had its struggles in the red meager numbers. South Carolina zone — scoring just 12 touchmust force Harris to pass the ball, downs in 28 tries — so if the and pressure the quarterback Gamecocks get there, they need when they do. to find a way to punch it in.
Treon Harris, QB The scouting report on dual-threat LSU quarterback Brandon Harris was that you could force him into errors by making him beat you with his arm. Well, Harris beat Carolina with his arm, shredding the Gamecock defense for 228 yards and two scores on 18 completions. He came into the game averaging around only 100 yards per game. Like Brandon Harris, Treon Harris is a good runner, but he’s also a markedly better passer — and he almost single-handedly beat the Gamecocks in The Swamp last year.
Vernon Hargreaves, CB Make Perry Orth — or Lorenzo Nuñez, or whoever lines up under center for the Gamecocks — write the following ad nauseum on a blackboard the week leading up to the game: “I will not throw at Vernon Hargreaves.” The preseason All-American led the SEC with 13 pass breakups last season. He has just one this year, but that’s because opposing quarterbacks are staying away from him: Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and LSU threw the ball at him fewer than ten times combined.
Jonathan Bullard, DL Florida’s defense is led by linebacker Antonio Morrison, who has 67 tackles, eight of which were for a loss. But it’s the defensive line that has been doing big things this season. Jonathan Bullard has 13 tackles for loss and 5 sacks in nine games, and quarterback has Perry Orth displayed a propensity for taking sacks at inopportune times this season.
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Interim head coach Shawn Elliott leads the Gamecocks onto the field against Vanderbilt on Oct. 17. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Next Man Up
will g n o l w Ho lead t t o i l l E Shawn ecocks? the Gam
BY SCOTT HOOD
W
e likely won’t know the identity of South Carolina’s new head football coach for another month. Until then, interim coach Shawn Elliott is next man up. Literally. Elliott’s six-game audition to convince Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner that he is the right man for the job reached the halfway point last weekend, when the Gamecocks lost to Tennessee 27-24 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, dropping Elliott’s record to 1-2. Three home games remain, beginning with Saturday’s SEC East battle against Florida followed by a pair of nonconference contests highlighted, of course, by the annual Palmetto Bowl against Clemson on Nov. 28 in Columbia.
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We may never know the exact reasons Steve Spurrier stunned the college football world by resigning four days before the Gamecocks faced Vanderbilt Oct. 17 at WilliamsBrice Stadium, or why he didn’t simply wait until the bye week before riding off into the sunset. Sure, the Gamecocks were struggling, Spurrier’s offensive scheme was floundering, and the final six-game stretch seemed daunting. But Spurrier vanished after compiling an
86-49 record (.637) in 10 and a half seasons as Carolina’s head coach, presiding over a program-changing decade in which the Gamecocks experienced unprecedented success on and off the field, with three consecutive 11-win seasons and major New Year’s Day bowl wins over Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin. Whatever his reasons, Spurrier believed he was doing the right thing cutting bait when he did, allowing Elliott an opportunity to prove himself as head coach carolina VS. FLORIDA
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Interim head coach Shawn Elliott celebrates with fans after beating Vanderbilt on Oct. 17. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina and give Tanner, his advisory committee and the search firm employed by the school a jump start on hiring the new coach. Realizing he had six games to make a positive impression and secure the full-time gig, Elliott moved quickly to put his stamp on the Gamecock program, particularly on the offense. Believing Carolina had become too predictable, Elliott spiced up the offensive playcalling, deploying more option and even a little razzle-dazzle. So far, it’s worked: In Carolina’s first two games under Elliott, the Gamecocks set new season highs for total yards: 424 in the Oct. 17 home win over Vanderbilt, and 445 at Texas A&M on Oct. 31. Even though the Gamecocks didn’t beat Texas A&M, the offense exhibited a different vibe against the Aggies, and newly promoted offensive coordinator G.A. Mangus called plays as if he were going for broke. Carolina scored its first touchdown on a reverse run by Lorenzo Nuñez, who’d
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lined up as a wide receiver. Later, quarterback Perry Orth ran the option to perfection from the 6-yard line and scampered untouched into the end zone. “With the bye week and a full week to prepare for Texas A&M, we added some new wrinkles,” Elliott said. “We’ve tried to put our players into situations where they can be successful and make the most of our opportunities. We have a lot left.” “There are always new wrinkles we are toying with that people will continue to see,” he added. “As I told our guys, if you keep running the same old plays, it gets stale. We always have to mix it up. We’re not adding a complete new scheme of things, but some new wrinkles off things we’ve always done.” One of those new wrinkles was emphasizing the option game. Carolina has always had those plays in the playbook, but has rarely used them since Connor Shaw departed after the 2013 season.
Even though he has publicly backed former walk-on Perry Orth, a traditional pocket passer, as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback, Elliott likes running the speed option — he deployed it during his tenure at Appalachian State — because of the stress the scheme places upon opposing defenses. “The speed option is something that could change the course of a game,” Elliott said. “It’s such a simple play with easy execution. But you’ve got to practice it. We’ve been working on it. We have to use more of that stuff and put stress on a defense. When defensive ends have to make a decision, it limits their capability of being explosive.” Besides tweaking the offense, Elliott also altered the practice routine. The pace is brisker. Music blares from loudspeakers throughout the two-hour session. “Our practices are a little more upbeat,” Elliott said. “Our guys are running around and enjoying the practice time
a little more than they did previously.” All this, of course, leads up to the definitive question, the one by which Ray Tanner’s tenure as athletics director will be judged: Who will be the next Carolina football coach? The athletic director should announce the hire in the first two weeks of December. Tanner said he wants the new coach in place by that point on the calendar in order to give him two months to organize recruiting prior to National Signing Day in early February. Essentially, the choice is retain Elliott and make him the full-time coach or bring in someone outside the program. “I’ve been preparing for this situation for 18 years,” Elliott said. “Every single day, I would picture myself making decisions and how I would handle this situation or this scenario. It may or may not work out. But I’m well prepared to be the head coach at this university or any other university.” Within days of Spurrier’s carolina VS. FLORIDA
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Interim head coach Shawn Elliott high-fives fans during the Gamecock Walk before the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 17. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
announced retirement, three major names emerged as possible successors: Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, Houston head coach Tom Herman, and Memphis head coach Justin Fuente. Each comes with distinct risks and rewards. Smart has worked alongside Nick Saban for nine seasons, seven as the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator. A former standout defensive back at Georgia, Smart is one of the nation’s most respected defensive coordinators. His best attribute? He helped build Alabama’s impressive recruiting machine, and would strive to do the same at Carolina. The biggest risk? He has never been a head coach before. Herman won the Broyles Award last season as the nation’s top assistant coach shortly before being hired as Houston’s head coach. He
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was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Ohio State for three seasons, and he’s considered by many analysts as the hottest young coaching candidate in the country. But Herman has spent his entire coaching career in the Midwest, so he has no real ties to SEC country, meaning it will take him time to develop relationships in this part of the country. Fuente has worked miracles at Memphis, and his national profile skyrocketed a few weeks ago when Memphis upset Ole Miss at the Liberty Bowl. Inheriting a program which had won just five combined games in the three years prior to his arrival, Fuente has turned the Tigers into American Athletic Conference champions. Fuente’s success at Memphis has not gone unnoticed by Power 5 schools, and his name should appear
at the top of the wish list for multiple openings. It’s not a coincidence most of the candidates Tanner is looking into are young, risingstar coaches. The coach-player relationship has changed significantly in the social media era, and younger coaches seem to connect better with today’s players, many of whom have been serenaded by friends and family on social media for years. “Where we are today in college sports is a lot different than where we were 15 years ago,” Tanner said. “The days of the stoic head coach who is hardcore has gone by the wayside. The head coach in any sport has to have energy. You don’t necessarily have to be rah-rah, but it’s important the players are engaged and they understand you and you are able to have a relationship and have some fun with it.” Carolina faces stiff
competition from about a half dozen major schools eyeing a new head coach. Power 5 conference schools such as Southern Cal, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Minnesota and Virginia Tech are already looking for new head coaches. In many ways, the new Carolina football coach — whoever he is — will have his work cut out as he attempts to guide the Gamecocks back into the upper echelon of the SEC. He’ll face a daunting task maneuvering the program through a rigorous early season schedule next September. Carolina’s first three SEC games are all on the road at Vanderbilt (Sept. 1), Mississippi State (Sept. 10) and Kentucky (Sept. 24). And the first two SEC home games are against Texas A&M (Oct. 1) and Georgia (Oct. 8), huge challenges that jump-start a five-game homestand. carolina VS. FLORIDA
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SENIOR PROFILE
BY Chris Dearing
Then-junior defensive tackle Gerald Senior tight end Jerell Adams scores a fourth-quarter Dixon Jr. blocks East Carolina kicker touchdown against Kentucky on Sept. 12, 2015. Warren Harvey’ s second-quarter field Photo by Lindsay Hickman /goal S.C attempt News Exchange in Columbia on Sept. 6, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Then-junior defensive end Gerald Dixon celebrates a second-quarter stop against Clemson in Clemson on Nov. 29, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
DE HOMETOWN: Rock Hill, S.C.
GERALD DIXON HEIGHT / WEIGHT:
6-2 / 269
EXPERIENCE:
2 VL
DT HOMETOWN: Rock Hill, S.C.
GERALD DIXON JR. HEIGHT / WEIGHT:
6-3 / 327
EXPERIENCE:
3 VL
Brother Act
Carolina’s Dixon brothers throw their own fraternity party on the defensive line
G
erald Dixon and Gerald Dixon Jr. realize their time playing together is coming to a close. They’re only guaranteed the remaining three home games of the 2015 season. Certainly by the time the Nov. 28 season finale against Clemson rolls around, the two will sit down with family and friends and reflect back on what has been a unique situation.
“We haven’t really thought about it,” Dixon Jr. says. “We’re just trying to finish the season strong but I’m sure we’ll have a conversation about it at some point.” Many South Carolina fans were familiar with them well before the Dixons, who are half-brothers, stepped on campus. Their father, Gerald
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Dixon Sr., played linebacker for the Gamecocks in 1990 and 1991 and played 10 years in the NFL. Defensive tackle Gerald Dixon Jr, who goes by “Junior” on the football team, is the elder of the half-brothers, but by less than five months. Gerald Dixon — full name: Gerald Gervoris Ky’Trell Dixon; carolina VS. FLORIDA
Senior defensive end Gerald Dixon is pushed back by Georgia offensive tackle Kolton Houston in Athens on Sept. 19. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
nickname: “Lil’ G” — plays defensive end. They played football at rival high schools in the Rock Hill area: Dixon Jr., a defensive tackle for the Gamecocks, came to Columbia via Northwestern High School; defensive end Dixon was a teammate of former Carolina standout Jadeveon Clowney at South Pointe High School. The Dixons were teammates on the 2010 Shrine Bowl team
as highly recruited prospects, but the last time they played together regularly was in 2003, when they played on a state-champion peewee team coached by their dad, an assistant football coach at Rock Hill High School. (All three Rock Hill-area high schools, it seems, had their own Dixon.) When the time came to choose a college, the two knew they wanted to play together. “Before we committed, we said
we wanted to get back together,” Dixon Jr. says. “It had been a while since he and I were right beside each other on the same team. We won a [rec league] allstar state championship together, and we wanted to do it all over again.” The Dixons have had solid but not spectacular careers that started with redshirted freshmen seasons in 2011. After starting just three games his first two seasons, Dixon Jr. has made 20 starts in the past 21 games. In this season’s first nine games, he notched 23 tackles and one tackle for loss. For his career, the 6-foot-3, 327-pound lineman has 79 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. “He comes in every single day wanting to get better,” defensive line coach Deke Adams says of Dixon Jr. “His motor never stops. You would like for everyone to play like he does. He’s been one of the most solid performers on the front for us the past two years. It doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet, but if he wasn’t doing his job then other guys couldn’t make the plays that they do.” Dixon was the more highly touted of the two coming out of high school, but injuries have kept him buried in the depth chart and limited his playing time. He had 61 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble coming into this season, and he blocked two field goals last year. But he hasn’t made a start this season after starting 11 games a season ago, and he missed the
North Carolina, Central Florida and Missouri games. Nonetheless, he’s recorded 18 tackles in five games six season. “G has been banged up and had to overcome some guys that came in hungry, wanting to get into the starting lineup,” Adams says. “He hasn’t played that poorly this season, he just hasn’t been as healthy as you would like. Maybe he can close the season strong.” Adams, who’s coached the brothers for the past three years, has observed the brothers’ bond, how close they are on and off the field. Personality-wise, they’re different, Adams says: Lil’ G will usually be the first to crack a joke or let you know he’s in the room; Junior is quieter, more humble. But on the field, they’re the same. “Obviously their father has played a big role in their lives,” Adams says. “He played in the NFL, and you can tell that has had an influence on them. They do things in a professional manner.” Each Dixon should get a shot at an NFL career. But first, there’s the small matter — or tall task, depending on how you look at it — of making the most of the final month of the season and hopefully getting the Gamecocks bowleligible for the 10th year in a row. “We still have things to finish here,” Dixon says. “That other stuff will take care of itself. We know we probably will not get a chance to play together again after this season. I love my brother, and whatever happens, I got a chance to play with him for five years. I will be forever grateful for that.”
GAMECOCK Game STATs Passing GP Perry Orth Lorenzo Nuñez Connor Mitch Pharoh Cooper M. Scarnecchia
Rushing Brandon Wilds Lorenzo Nuñez David Williams Shon Carson Perry Orth Team Total
EFFIC. COMP-ATT-INT PCT
9 6 2 9 1
120.0 130.0 104.0 16.5 175.6
GP 6 6 9 8 9 9
ATT 96 48 73 42 36 337
89-166-6 31-51-3 13-29-0 1-3-0 1-1-0
53.6 60.8 44.8 33.3 100.0
GAIN LOSS NET 515 349 285 222 181 1,752
8 43 23 4 65 170
NOVEMBER 11, 2015 | ISSUE no. 5
507 306 262 218 116 1,582
YDS
TD
AVG
TD
1,180 374 165 -6 9
5.3 6.4 3.6 5.2 3.2 4.7
7 3 1 0 0
2 2 0 1 2 9
LG 78 35 27 0 9
LG 43 33 18 48 66 66
AVG/G
Receiving
AVG/G
Defense
131.1 62.3 82.5 -0.7 9.0
84.5 51.2 29.1 27.2 12.0 175.8
Pharoh Cooper Jerell Adams Brandon Wilds David Williams Matrick Belton Team Total Skai Moore Isaiah Johnson T.J. Gurley T.J. Holloman Jordan Diggs Team Total
GP 9 9 6 9 9 9
GP 9 9 9 7 9 9
NO. 48 18 13 10 8 135
YDS
656 270 110 82 77 1,722
AVG
TD
13.7 15.0 8.5 8.2 9.6 12.8
5 3 0 0 0 11
SOLO ASST. TOT 53 36 32 25 21 389
36 24 12 15 17 218
LG 78 36 20 21 18 78
AVG/G
72.9 30.0 18.3 9.1 8.6 191.3
SACK INT TFL-YDS
89 60 44 40 38 607
2 0 0 0 0 16
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6.5-21 1.5-2 1.5-6 2.0-2 0.5-0 46-167
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OPINION
BY james harley
Then-freshman cornerback Chris Lammons celebrates after breaking up a pass intended for Florida wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in Gainesville on Nov. 15, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Gator Bait
Carolina’s only hope against the Gators? Gambling.
W
ith Florida on the rise and Carolina on a slide, it’s hard to be optimistic about this week’s clash against the Gators. One supposes there’s a touch of hope to cling to in that Carolina has won four of the last five against Florida. But given the current circumstances, all that really means is it’s Florida’s turn to take control of the series again.
Florida has been a thorn in Carolina’s side even during the Gamecocks’ best years. The Gators handed the Gamecocks one of only two losses in 2012, and by a heavy margin at 44-11. Spurrier brought some promise in his first year at Carolina in 2005 when he broke the embarrassing 14-game losing
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streak to the Gators, but Florida rebounded with wins in each of the next four years, even as the Head Ball Coach turned things around and established Carolina as a winning program. (Well, so long as Carolina wasn’t playing Florida.) Spurrier took control of the series again in 2010 with an impressive
36-14 victory but could never defeat the Gators by more than five points after that. Finding an advantage against Florida isn’t just difficult; it’s almost impossible. For example, Carolina’s performance against common opponents is cringe-worthy. Florida put a 27-3 beatdown on Georgia;
the Gamecocks gave up 52 points to the Bulldogs in an embarrassing 32-point loss. The Gators held Missouri to just a field goal in a dominant 21-3 victory; Carolina yielded 24 points to the anemic Tiger offense and lost by two touchdowns. Both teams lost to LSU, but the Gators hung within a touchdown (35-28) while the Gamecocks were blown out 45-24. Even Florida’s less impressive 14-9 win over a Kentucky team that has beaten Carolina twice in a row becomes a slap in the face. (There is perhaps some solace that Florida needed a late field goal to beat Vanderbilt 9-7, while the Gamecocks beat the Commodores 19-10.) Given these results, can we really expect the Gamecocks to compete with the Gators? Not as long as Carolina keeps doing things the same way. It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that the Gamecocks make a bowl game, and while the first losing season in more than a decade would sting, the Gamecocks really have nothing substantial to lose at this point. It’s time to gamble. The defense has caught a lot of flak this year for poor tackling and other fundamental problems, but the offense has been far too conservative, which has resulted in a lot of punts, some field goals and very few touchdowns. When has Carolina been successful on offense? When someone makes a big play. The Gamecocks do not have the consistency to march the ball down the field converting third downs along the way; they’ve converted just 37 of 106 third-down chances this year. Without Pharoh Cooper breaking loose for a 78-yard touchdown against LSU or a 43-yard score on Vanderbilt, it is likely those drives would have stalled. Likewise, Perry Orth’s 66-yard run and Hayden Hurst’s 47-yard catch against Texas A&M were key in keeping Carolina in the game. Even coming off of their best offensive game of the season (445 yards), Carolina could still only muster 19 first downs to A&M’s 29, relying almost entirely on the big plays to sustain its drives. Face it: Carolina needs a lot of luck in order to succeed, and the Gamecocks are not gambling enough to hit the jackpot. Now that there’s next to nothing at stake, it’s time to take more chances and truly challenge Florida’s defense by going for the big plays. Carolina can’t beat Florida by being conservative. So why can’t the Gamecocks try and make it a shootout? Gators 35, Gamecocks 20. carolina VS. FLORIDA
TALES FROM THE TAILGATE words & Photos BY Sean Rayford
A
bout 20 minutes before kickoff, the trickling pedestrian crowd outside of WilliamsBrice Stadium surges to a river of rowdy fans. Little legs and a vertically challenged line of sight make navigation through the crowd for the youngest of Gamecock fans dangerous. Luckily, those
little fans are typically accompanied by a big person with strong shoulders, an aversion to missing kickoff and the responsibility to not lose tiny a human among a sea of 80,000 fanatics. In the end, the wee ones receive a gameday experience at Williams-Brice Stadium that money can’t buy.
NOVEMBER 11, 2015 | ISSUE no. 5
Next time you give a kid a ride on your shoulders to a Carolina football game, hand them your phone and turn the video camera on. (As a photographer, I’ve grown quite jealous of their vantage point — and their role as a passenger.) Budget time to see the players arrive at Gamecock Park
and meander through the crowd outside the student entrance, and keep fi lming until you reach your seats. You’ll have the best Gamecock keepsake of all time, and you’ll have created it with a young person you care about. On second thought: Just let them experience it.
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go gamecocks! FL
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carolina VS. FLORIDA